General Administration requested an
updated version of our Phased Retirement Program upon adoption of Section 600
of the Code.There were four issues
raised with our program

·We are required to
specify the number of years that a faculty member will be in the Phased
Retirement Program, rather than allow faculty members to choose a number of
years

·We are to make
provisions to ensure that faculty members have 45 days to review the Phased
Retirement Program documents

·We did not refer to
the “Agreement and Release” document correctly

·We did not include a
list of benefits with the program showing which benefits faculty members in the
Phased Retirement Program were entitled to

The following Phased Retirement Program
represents a significant re-writing of Section 2.11.2 in the faculty handbook
addressing the first three points, and has already been approved by G.A.The substantial change is that the Phased
Retirement Program is set at three years.

A complete list of benefits available
to faculty members in the Phased Retirement Plan is available and is included
as a supplement to this document.

Revised
Faculty Handbook 2.11.2

2.11.2 Phased
Retirement Program

The
University of North Carolina Phased Retirement Program
(the “Program”) is designed to provide an opportunity for eligible full-time
tenured faculty members (“Eligible Faculty Members”) to transition to
retirement through half-time (or equivalent) service.The goals of the Program are to provide
additional flexibility and support for individual faculty members who are
nearing retirement and to promote renewal of the professoriate in order to ensure
institutional vitality.Enrolling
Eligible Faculty Members may elect to begin receiving the benefits they have
accrued under either the NC Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System
(“TSERS”) or the UNC Optional Retirement Program (the “ORP”), but they are not
required to do so.However, so long as
an Eligible Faculty Member does not receive a monthly retirement benefit, he or
she will not receive University/State paid State Health Plan benefits.[1]This policy is written in accordance with UNC
Policy 300.7.2 and includes the revisions approved on September 7, 2007.

The
Phased Retirement Program is entirely voluntary and is available when agreed to
and entered into by mutual written agreement between an eligible full time
tenured faculty member and the university.

2.11.2.1Eligibility
and Approval

A.The Program is available only to full-time tenured faculty
members.Non-tenured and tenure-track
faculty are not eligible for the Program.

B.Participating faculty members must:

1.Be at least age 62 or
older for members of TSERS or 59 ½ for participants in the ORP upon entering
the Phased Retirement Program.[2]Note:Age calculations are based on age as of
August 1 of the year in which phased retirement begins.

2.Have at least five (5) years of full-time service at his or
her current institution, and

3.Be eligible to receive a retirement benefit under TSERS or
ORP, as applicable.

C.Faculty members are individually responsible for providing
to their employing institution age and service data needed to determine their
Program eligibility.Faculty who occupy
full-time administrative or staff positions are not eligible for the Program
until they vacate the administrative or staff position.Thus, services rendered while in phased
retirement will be only those teaching, research and administrative duties
under faculty appointment.

D.Eligible Faculty Members do not have an absolute right to
participate in the Program.Departments,
schools or institutions may limit participation in the Program based on three
conditions:

1.A finding that financial exigencies prohibit enrollment in
the Program by the Eligible Faculty Member.

2.Further enrollment in the Program will substantially weaken
academic quality or disrupt program sequence within the department, school or
institution.

3.A department or school or an institution may each establish
a cap or limit on the number of Eligible Faculty Members who may enter the
program.

E.An application to enter the Program must be made at least
six (6) months but no more than eleven (11) months before the effective date of
an Eligible Faculty Member’s requested participation in the Phased Retirement
Program, to begin at the start of the next academic year.

F.An application to enter the Program must be submitted to the
Eligible Faculty Member’s Department or Division Head.An application is subject to final approval
by the Institution’s Chief Academic Officer following evaluation of the
conditions outlined in section D above and the development of a mutual “work
plan” with the Eligible Faculty Member.

G.If an Eligible Faculty Member and the employing institution
tentatively agree to the faculty member’s participation and a mutual work plan,
the decision to enter or not enter the Program then rests with the Eligible
Faculty Member.

H.Once made, a decision to enter the program is binding and
cannot be reversed.

I.The Program has been made a continuing benefit of the
University, subject to reservation by the UNC Board of Governors of the right
to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Program.Eligible Faculty Members may timely seek to enter the Program for the
number of years uniformly specified by UNC Asheville for its participating
faculty.

2.11.2.2Terms and Conditions

A.Phased retirement under the Program is subject to the
following terms and conditions:

1.Upon entering the Program, Eligible Faculty Members give up
tenure.They terminate full-time
employment and contract for a period of half-time (or equivalent) service to
UNC Asheville.Half-time
responsibilities may vary among departments in the university.Half-time service may consist of full-time
work for one-half of a year (e.g. full-time work for one semester of an
academic year) or half-time work for a year (e.g. half-time work in each of the
two semesters of an academic year).Under either pattern the Program enrollment period begins with the fall
semester.Teaching, research and service
assignments during the period of phased retirement are individually negotiated
by the Eligible Faculty Member and the appropriate supervisors and/or personnel
committee(s).The details of the
half-time service (“work plan”) must be set forth in a UNC Phased Retirement
Application and Reemployment Agreement (the “Agreement).

2.In conjunction with the Agreement executed under the Program
an Eligible Faculty Member must execute a waiver of rights and claims under the
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (the “ADEA”) and other laws (the
“Release”).The Agreement and Release
must fully comply with the requirements for knowing and voluntary waivers as
provided in the ADEA and other applicable law.After the Agreement and Release are drafted and signed by the
appropriate administrators, they must be delivered to the Eligible Faculty
Member and the Eligible Faculty Member has no fewer than forty-five (45)
calendar days within which to consider the Agreement and Release.The Agreement and Release do not become
effective and enforceable until after a period of seven (7) calendar days
following their execution by the Eligible Faculty Member, and during such
period the Eligible Faculty Member may unilaterally revoke the Agreement and
Release.If the Eligible Faculty Member
elects to revoke the Agreement and Release within the seven-day period, the
Eligible Faculty Member will continue in his or her same full-time employment
status as the faculty member held immediately prior to the execution of the
Agreement and Release, and the Agreement and Release become null and void.Revocations must be in a writing personally
signed by the faculty member and received by the official to whom the prior
application to participate in the Program had been submitted.

3.Participating Faculty Members initially receive a salary
equal to fifty percent (50%) of the full-time salary they received immediately
prior to phased retirement (e.g. based on the Faculty Member’s prior nine- or
twelve-month contractual terms, as applicable).In addition, compensation paid during phased retirement is paid over
twelve (12) months irrespective of the pattern of duties under the Faculty
Member’s work plan. Subject to any limitations imposed under the State Retirement System
and the legislative appropriations process, Participating Faculty Members
are eligible for salary increases and merit pay in subsequent years of Program
participation based on annual evaluations.

4.Participating Faculty Members will remain subject to The
Code and policies of The University of North Carolina and UNC Asheville
policies.In addition, without expressly
or constructively terminating any Agreement, UNC Asheville may place a Participating
Faculty Member on temporary leave with pay and/or reassign a Participating
Faculty Member’s duties during or as a result of any investigation or
disciplinary action involving the Participating Faculty Member.Such authority shall be invoked only in
exceptional circumstances when the Participating Faculty Member’s Department or
Division Head determines that such action is in the best interests of the
university.

5.Phased retirement under the
Program may be for a period of at least one but not greater than five
years.Each institution will set the
length of phased retirement for its faculty.All Eligible Faculty Members at each institution will have the same
period of phased retirement.At UNC
Asheville, phased retirement is for a period ofthree years.

B.UNC Asheville will develop a list of employee benefit plans
or programs in which Eligible Faculty Members may participate during the phased
retirement period.In addition, Eligible
Faculty Members who elect into the Program will retain their professorial rank
and the full range of responsibilities, rights and other general benefits
associated with such rank, except for tenured status or as otherwise modified
pursuant to an Eligible Faculty Member’s agreed-to work plan.(UNC Asheville will, however, keep records of
participation so as to note those faculty who are in phased retirement.)

2.11.2.3General Provisions

A.Nothing in the Program precludes a participating Faculty
Member from terminating his or her phased retirement at any time if the
employing institution provides its consent.

B.Eligible Faculty Members participating in the Program do not
enjoy the benefits of tenure.They may
not serve on committees that require members to be tenured.Otherwise, participants have the same
academic freedoms and responsibilities as other faculty members and have access
to all grievance and appeal procedures available to non-tenured members of the
faculty who are not participating in the Program.

C.Participating Faculty Members are expected to maintain high
levels of professional commitment to UNC Asheville.

A.Institutional Limits on Participation in the Phased
Retirement Program

UNC Asheville has not established departmental or
institutional caps on the number of participants in the Phased Retirement
Program (PRP).However, an application
to participate can be denied if participation in the PRP would substantially
weaken academic quality of department or university programs.This finding, however, must be supported by
objective measures of program quality.A
judgment to deny participation on these grounds must be confirmed by the
Provost/Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, if first made by a Department
Chair.A judgment to deny participation
must be confirmed by the Chancellor when first made by the Vice Chancellor for
Academic Affairs.

If the initial
application is not approved, faculty members may appeal to the Grievance Committee
if they feel they have been inappropriately denied access to the Program or if
they feel the Program’s guidelines have not been properly followed.

B.Limits on Participation Because of Financial Exigencies

Financial exigency shall be determined according to
the stipulations of The Code of the University of North
Carolina (Section 605, A, B, C) and the UNC
Asheville Tenure Policies and Regulations (Section V,
1,2).The following conditions must be
met in order for there to be any effect upon the application of the PRP.

1.Funds in the “101” faculty salary amount must be
insufficient to support fully the number of FTE faculty positions of the
previous year, and

2.A determination has been made by the Chancellor,
under the conditions set by The Code, to terminate a designated program
or to reduce the number of faculty members in a designated program.

In the event a
financial exigency is declared according to the provisions of The Code,
entry into phased retirement for faculty in the programs being eliminated may
be suspended until the financial exigency is declared at an end.

C.Eligibility

Faculty are
individually responsible for providing to the Office of Academic Affairs their
age and service data needed to determine their program eligibility.

A list of faculty
by rank, age, discipline area and administrative title (without names) of those
faculty eligible and ineligible to participate in the program will be prepared
annually each year and mailed as part of the PRP program materials. (See item
V.B.6)

D.Procedures Ensuring Eligible Members Are
Informed

1.All full-time tenured faculty will receive a
letter announcing the PRP and providing eligibility information from the Office
of Academic Affairs.

2.All eligible faculty members, and those who
appear to be qualified for participation, will receive program materials from
the Office of Academic Affairs by September 1 of each year.Program materials will be sent by certified
mail in order to document the receipt of it by the eligible faculty member.

·A chart outlining effects of participation in
Phased Retirement Program on employee benefits, and

·A chart reflecting information regarding persons
who are eligible and those who are ineligible for the program.

3.Annual presentations will be advertised and held
to provide further information about the Program to interested faculty, through
a cooperative venture between the Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of
Human Resources.

4.Questions about the program should be directed
to the Office of Academic Affairs.

E.Procedure Used To Accept, Review and Approve
Applications

1.Application to the PRP must be made at least six
(6) months but no more than eleven (11) months before the effective date of an
Eligible Faculty Member’s requested participation in the Phased Retirement
Program, to begin at the start of the next academic year.

2.Faculty members intending to enter the PRP will
develop a half-time work plan with the Department Chair.This plan will be subject to approval by the
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.A
faculty member who is currently serving as a Department Chair will develop a
half-time work plan with the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, who will
consult with senior members of the department about the plan.The plan will be subject to approval by the
Chancellor.

3.The Office of Academic Affairs will receive the
applications, recording the date of their receipt.The Vice Chancellor will review the
application and render a decision regarding its approval with regard to its
effect on the academic quality of the department or university programs.When an application is received from a
current Department Chair, the Chancellor will review the application and render
a decision regarding its approval.

4.If the Application is approved:

A.A checklist and the Agreement and Release
Package will be provided to the faculty member by the Office of Academic
Affairs.The checklist will ensure and
document that the eligible faculty member has received all materials in the
Agreement and Release Package.The
eligible faculty member will sign the checklist, confirming receipt of these
materials as well as the Agreement and Release forms.

B.Upon signing this checklist and receiving the
completed Agreement and Release forms signed by the institution, the faculty
member has 45 days in which to sign and return the forms to the Office of
Academic Affairs.If the Agreement and
Release forms are not received within 50 days, there is no active request to
participate in the Phased Retirement Program at that time.A faculty member may apply to the Program at
a later date in accordance with the provisions of this policy.

C.If the signed forms are received by the Office
of Academic Affairs within 50 days, there will be a 7-day waiting period from
the date of receipt in which the faculty member has the right to revoke the
fully executed Agreement and Release.If
the application is not revoked, the faculty member is officially enrolled in
the Program.If revoked, the faculty
member will not be eligible to participate in the program at that time, but may
reapply to participate at a later date.The Office of Academic Affairs will provide to the Office of Human
Resources a listing of all faculty members who have enrolled in the Program.

F.Guidelines for Half-time Work Plans

1.The faculty member will carry a teaching load
which is reduced by one-half of the standard load, currently 24 semester hours
(or their equivalent) per academic year.Thus, the faculty member participating in PRP will carry 12 semester
hours per academic year.Faculty members
in the Program will not typically be eligible for additional time released from
teaching.

2.The faculty member will carry one-half of
faculty responsibilities including service and scholarly activity (advising,
departmental work, campus committee assignments, and community service).

3.Only faculty with 12-month contracts (e.g.
research professors) may perform services during other than the fall and spring
semesters of the regular-term academic year.No work plan may include duties incident to summer school curricula.

4.Compensation is paid over the 12-month
participation year even if services are rendered during only part of the 12
months.

The faculty
member will work together with the Department Chair to define specific service
responsibilities under F. 2., recognizing that these may shift from year to
year during the Phased Retirement.

[1] If a
faculty member does not elect to receive a monthly retirement benefit from
TSERS or ORP, upon entering phased retirement he/she may continue participation
in the State Health Plan as a permanent halftime employee on a fully
contributory basis.In that case, the
faculty member would not be eligible to receive the University’s contribution.

[2] To
comply with federal law, the increase in minimum age for participation from 50
to 62 for TSERS and 59 ½ for ORP participants becomes effective for faculty who
first enter phased retirement beginning in the 2008-2009 academic year.